Star Trek: Infinite Space Game Officially Cancelled

The list of cancelled Star Trek video games just got longer. The German publisher Gameforge has made official what has been clear since last fall, their browser game Star Trek: Infinite Space is dead. The company is citing problems finding a partner. More details below.

Infinite Space Cancelled

Last November we reported that Gameforge, who were developing the free to play browser game Star Trek: Infinite Space, had announced layoffs and said they were putting development on hold while they searched for a partner to co-publish the game. But in a statement (translated from German by GameIndustry.biz) Gameforge is now saying they have given up:

"Since autumn 2011 we made many efforts to find a publishing and marketing partner for Star Trek: Infinite Space…Unfortunately, our efforts were not successful. So we have decided with a heavy heart to finally abandon the project Star Trek: Infinite Space. The discontinuation is very regrettable. Unfortunately it happens from time to time that a good concept for a game cannot be implemented as originally planned."

Gameforge, publisher of many free to play browser based games, originally announced the title in 2010. The game was to be set in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine universe during the Dominion War. Gameforge had hoped to launch the game in the fall of 2011 and much work had been done. The publisher had launched a website and demonstrated the game at E3, Fedcon and other trade shows. They even put out this trailer for the game in October 2011.

Another one bites the dust

Star Trek: Infinite Space was to be the first free browser-based Star Trek RPG. There was also talk about Gameforge developing a Facebook page (ala Farmville), but that seems to be gone as well. Infinite Space joins the pantheon of announced but never-released games such as "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – The Hunt," "Star Trek: Borg Assimilator," "Star Trek: Voyager – Retribution," and (most famously) "Star Trek: Secrets of Vulcan Fury," which was to feature voice acting from the entire original Star Trek cast.

1998 trailer for "Star Trek: Secrets of Vulcan Fury"

While Infinite Space adds another page to the long book of Trek’s troubled gaming history, there are bright spots as well. Gamers still have Star Trek Online, which is now free to play, and the upcoming Star Trek co-op console and PC game set in the new movie universe (and due in early 2013).

Wow what a shame, I was looking forward to this game. In fact some of the other ones mentioned looked like they would have been fun to play. Any way we will just have to wait and see what actually gets made.

It was the wrong subject matter, plain and simple. Hard to get partners onboard a game centered around such an obscure series ( where the mainstream is concerned). I think ds9 is the best of all the TNG era series, but to bank on it to anchor a project so large in scope wasnt very wise.

8 – the original cast (save DeForest) recorded extensive dialog for the movie back then. Those recordings have not surfaced.

5- it is not as easy as being ‘smart’ the rights are in limbo, as Interplay does not exist anymore, and are not licenced to release any Trek title even if they were. I contacted DC Fontana, and while she does have her materials regarding the game, she does not have the rights to publish it. She even sought permission to use it for a novel, I believe, and wasn’t cleared for that.

This makes me nervous about the upcoming console tie-in game. “Star Trek” games don’t do well with the mainstream, and there aren’t enough Trek fans who are gamers to support such expensive projects.

Even “Star Trek Online” is now free because the publishers realized that the game was way too expensive for such a small group of players. STO has lost a lot of money as a result, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that game gets canned.

So I wouldn’t be surprised if the upcoming Trek console game gets cancelled, too.

“Even “Star Trek Online” is now free because the publishers realized that the game was way too expensive for such a small group of players. ”

A lot of MMOs are now free to play, even ones with more “mainstream” IPs: Lord of the Rings Online and DC Universe already have free-to-play options, and Star Wars The Old Republic is going free-to-play in Autumn. Many of the most popular MMOs like Aion, Lineage, Rift are going free too. Even World of Warcraft is free to play up to level 20 these days.

Disappointed. Video games are a big part of the entertainment industry. It would help get the Star Trek brand out. I’ve always preached that somebody should turn Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury into an animated movie. There seems to be some voice acting done for the game. Why waste it? Release as a direct to DVD animated 3D movie. What do you say Bob Orci?

Eh, who cares? It was just yet another TNG-era game. They’ve made plenty of those. Now, if it was actually a TOS-era game, then THAT would be a shame, because they haven’t actually ever made any (the ancient floppy-disk games don’t count, people).

@15 star trek online went free to play because perfect world entertainment only work with free to play models. Game is not loosing money they are in fact making money and is hiring more programmers to develop the game further

It figures. No one gives two shits about making a non-2009 trek game (save Cryptic who did STO). I guarantee you they didn’t try like they said they did to find a publisher. Oh well, this developer wont be missed.

I e-mailed Gameforge over this and suggested they transform this game into an iOS/other mobile platform game and seek a release partner in EA Games, Gameloft or some other major mobile game provider, that way maybe this game might have a chance, however small as a Borg nanoprobe that chance might be, of still getting released in some form.

So damn aggravating. To once again come so far, and then shut it down. Thank God for STO…at least there’s something to do (though not much). I miss the hey-day of Trek gaming…late ’90s/early ’00s….with the full cast games of Trek25 and Judgment Rites, and Final Unity, and Generations. And many of the Activision games that kept my teenage years a busy one. I can’t even imagine if they took another shot at Secret of Vulcan Fury. If all the original cast voice overs were done in the’ 90s and still in existence (or at least Kelley’s and Doohan’s), they can really go places with it, with CGI and gaming, or even an animated movie.

@5: I always felt the same about SOVF. I also felt it would be great if an Bridge Commander got a slick sequel for next gen consoles. Or if A Final Unity was re-released with updated graphics and set sometime before Nemesis (kind of like the way Halo was re-released). It would be great especially on PS3 and XBox360. Those I would buy for sure.

Lego games won’t happen as a result of some contract between Lucasfilms and Lego. No other Sci-Fi shows can be made into legos for now.

They will never do Vulcan fury because, whoever is sitting on the rights for that, won’t let it surface. Someone must be very bitter at the project to just not want anything to surface. I asked DC about it and all she said was that the rights were never cleared.

I wish I knew who owned them.

Oh and from what I remember, the recordings for the game have been lost as well as whatever was created for the game. Sad

Star Trek games have never been enjoyable. They try too hard to replicate (pun) the universe too much. Flying a giant space ship like a fighter jet isn’t realistic or fun; why not have team play where one guy pilots the ship, one guy mans the phasers, and another communicates with the fleet. Manuevering a ship through difficult waypoints in space unlocks perks for upgrading the ship or your character; phasers get stronger for the weapons guy, etc. Instead of battles between starships, they can be missions to deflect asteroids or tell stories in creative ways. All in between those missions the players explore the ship and interact with other players in a story mode.

Just thinking out loud. Have never enjoyed a Star Trek game, and I gave a lot of bad video games time to decide on…

Any attempt to make Star Trek into either an action game, a shooter, or a strategy/conquest game is just doomed to fail.

Star Trek is a MYSTERY ADVENTURE. The only format that makes sense is the old adventure game format .Imagine “25th Anniversary” or “Judgment Rites” remade with modern graphics and CGI cutscenes. Excellent games. Although the stories were good, sadly the actual scripting was awkward and the voice performances were lifeless.

I hope you have Hollywood connections. You’ve heard James Doohan’s and William Shatner’s voice recordings in the video above. Series writer and the wrtier for the game, D.C. Fontana wanted to do something with the game.. But CBS blew her off. Check out Anthony’s great interview below. If you can contact D.C.Fontana, she will have more information on how far they went with voice recordings.

If it doesn’t stink, let’s not let this work go to waste. Direct to DVD is the least that we can do for this lost “episode” of Star Trek.

its much older and was originally designed with real star strek logos, ships, etc. in the beginnings.
but afaik it seems paramount didn’t gave the creators the right to use them anymore, so they “styled” it new, and still it is star trek rpg.

though programming is bad, there are many bugs, the features are changing frequently, the support is as bad as can be …
i liked this game, when it was really free.

I’m very disappointed, too. Although it doesn’t surprises me after there where no updates anymore for a while about ST:IS. I don’t like Star Trek Online, because it’s too much like any other RPG… “Go there. Kill ten Borg. Get rewarded” … I was looking foward to IS … sure… the screens and the Trailer where showing a less Trek and more “Destroy every Starship in that sector” direction, but I liked Armada and the developers promised that there will be diplomatic missions and decisions and even some exploration, too … Well .. we won’t be able to put that on the test anymore… My sympathy to all the guys working for that project and where trying to make it real. Talkin about Vulcan Fury, so I have to admit, that I feel like most of you … It’s a mess this game has been canceled. I think Star Trek is perfect for Adventure-Games and I loved 25th Anniversary, Judgment Rites and A Final Unity … Secret of Vulcan Fury would have been phantastic the time it was supposed to be released… The graphics where state of the art but I think that was one reason it was cancelled … The costs where probable immense. I hope the Console-Game won’t be just a FPS with some dumb action in it. I hope for some good story driven games where thinking is more often needed than blowing something up… Well … since there is no such game jet, I’m trying to… Read more »

No big loss…I’m sick of Star Trek video games that are all killing/shoot-em-ups. How about a Star Trek game in the mold of something like Skyrim or Heavy Rain? I’m not against a good ol’ fashioned shooter, but how about some variety – Star Trek was NEVER really about the violence, although it certainly contains a fair share.